Fish and tips in the kitchen

By Lynn Bain

Sep 24, 2024

This month, LYNN BAIN shares a marinade that will make sure your fish doesn’t dry out.

This marinade recipe is a great way to ensure that fish ‘steaks’ remain moist and don’t dry out during the cooking process.

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Handy hint one: You could substitute maple syrup for the honey in the following recipe.

Handy hint two: For the sake of convenience, you could use prepared garlic, coriander and lemongrass pastes that are available in tubes in the supermarket.

Handy hint three: You may like to spray your grill pan or oven tray with some non-stick cooking spray for ease of clean-up after cooking the salmon.

MARINATED SALMON STEAKS

INGREDIENTS

3 salmon steaks

Marinade

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp honey

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp lime zest

2 tsp finely chopped lemongrass (white part only)

3 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves

A good grinding of black pepper

1 garlic clove, finely grated

Step 1: In a glass bowl (in this case a ‘beaker’), combine the olive oil, honey, soy sauce, lime zest, lemongrass, coriander leaves and pepper.

Step 2: Whisk the ingredients to combine.

Step 3: Remove a tablespoon or so of the combined marinade and place to one side in a small glass bowl. This reserved marinade will be used to glaze/baste the salmon cutlets after they are cooked.

Step 4: Add the garlic to the remaining marinade and whisk again to combine.

Step 5: Pour the marinade into a shallow glass dish.

Step 6: Now place the fish in the marinade in a single layer. Turn the fish cutlets in the marinade to thoroughly coat them. Place the marinating fish cutlets in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of four hours.

Step 7: When you are ready to cook, remove the salmon cutlets from the marinade and brush as much of the zest, coriander, lemongrass and garlic off the cutlets as you can. The reason for doing so is that the garlic and herbs may char during the cooking process.

Step 8: If you are using a grill pan or your barbecue, heat it over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the salmon cutlets to the pan and cook for about five minutes, carefully turning the cutlets once. The cooking time will be dependant on the thickness of the cutlet. Please remember the fish will continue to cook for a little bit after it has been removed from the heat.

If you are going to cook the salmon in the oven, preheat the oven to 200°C. When the oven has come to temperature, place the marinated salmon in an ovenproof tray and cook for about 15 minutes. Once more, the cooking time will be dependant on the thickness of the salmon cutlet.

Step 9: Once the cutlets have been flipped over, apply a brush or two of the reserved marinade to the ‘top side’ of the fish flesh. This adds a little extra moisture to the finished product.